FIBA Europe - Kirilenko special again in Russian rout of Israel

SEVILLA (EuroBasket 2007) - Andrei Kirilenko turned in another dominating performance to fire Russia to a second consecutive victory in Group A at EuroBasket 2007 on Tuesday.

The 2.09M forward had 17 points, 13 rebounds and five assists as Russia romped to a 90-56 triumph over Israel in Granada, Spain.

Kirilenko also blocked two shots and came up with two steals.

Russia were in command with a 12-point half-time lead, then used an 18-2 spurt to open the third quarter to take control for good. Kirilenko had 24 points and 12 rebounds in a 73-65 win over Serbia on Monday.

In Group C, Lithuania are showing signs they have returned to top form with a 95-75 mauling of the Czech Republic in Palma.

The Lithuanians buried 13-of-21 shots from 3-point range, led by leading scorer Ksistof Lavrinovic's perfect 4-of-4 night.

He finished with a game-high 22 points while Denver Nugget Linas Kleiza had 14. Kleiza made both of his shots from the arc.

In Group D, Tony Parker erupted for 36 points to lead France past Andrea Bargnani and Italy, 69-62.

Parker, the San Antonio's NBA Finals MVP earlier this summer, hit one of his four 3-pointers to tie the contest at 60-60 with 3:38 remaining.

After Bargnani, who finished with 16 points, saw his 3-point attempt rim out, Tariq Kirksay went to the other end and scored from the arc for a 63-60 lead.

In Tuesday's other early game, Croatia defeated Portugal, 90-68.

Jasmin Repesa's team went on a decisive 9-0 run early in the third quarter to lead 51-39 and the Portuguese never recovered.

Marko Popovic led the winners with 14 points while Portugal's Joao Gomes scored 13 of his 17 in the first eight minutes.

Dirk Nowitzki and Germany had a much easier time on Tuesday in Group C, blowing out Turkey 79-49.

The Germans were taken to overtime by the Czech Republic in Monday's opener before winning that clash. But the Turks, despite the presence of Hedo Turkoglu and NBA All-Star Mehmet Okur, offered little resistance.

Dallas Mavericks superstar Nowitzki scored 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field, including 3-of-8 on 3-pointers. He also grabbed six rebounds.

Turkoglu had 15 points, but Okur scored just five points on 1-of-8 shooting.

There were dramatic scenes in Granada, Spain where Serbian captain Milan Gurovic's desperation heave 15 feet behind the arc forced overtime against Greece in a Group A contest.

Serbia then led 64-63 in the extra period after Marko Jaric split a pair of free throws.

But Greece - the defending EuroBasket champions - made the big plays down the stretch.

Lazaros Papadopoulos replied with a short jumper, and Demos Dikoudis followed with a 3-pointer to give Greece a four-point advantage en route to a 68-67 triumph.

Dikoudis netted 20 points, Jaric scored 18 and Darko Milicic had 17 for the Serbs.

World champions Spain won for the second time in Group B, overcoming a determined Latvia 93-77 at the San Pablo Pavilion in Sevilla.

Pau Gasol poured in 26 points, scoring 16 in the first half, and also corralled nine rebounds.

Latvia are a great three-point shooting team, but even in this department they were second best against Spain who made 8-of-18 compared to the Baltic team’s 9-of-22.

Even Gasol chipped in, making his only attempt from long range on the night.

Karlis Muiznieks, the Latvia coach, said: “Of course we wanted to win against the world champions from Spain, and we tried to do everything we could, but unfortunately this time we didn’t have enough fight underneath the basket.”

In Group D, Slovenia followed up their victory over Italy by whipping Poland 70-52 as Erazem Lorbek scored 16 points and Rasho Nesterovic had 11 with 12 rebounds.

Jeff Taylor, Sevilla
FIBA